University
of
Cape
Town
UCT STUDENT NUMBER: WMCELI001
DEVELOPING BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYST
COMPETENCIES THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION
INSTITUTION INTERVENTIONS - A KENYAN STUDY
by
Elizabeth Wamicha
SUPERVISOR: Assoc. Prof Lisa F. Seymour
Thesis Presented for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
In the Department of Information Systems
FACULTY OF COMMERCE
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN
University
of
Cape
Town
The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No
quotation from it or information derived from it is to be
published without full acknowledgement of the source.
The thesis is to be used for private study or
non-commercial research purposes only.
Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms
of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author.
iii
Declaration
This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except where specifically indicated. It has not been previously submitted, in part or whole, to any university or institution for any degree, diploma, or other qualification.
Signature: Date: 02/05/2019
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Dedication
To Anthony and Catherine. You are both a blessing to me.
To My Wonderful Mother, Mary Wamicha and my Father, the Late Professor Wellington Wamicha for ingraining in me early on the value of a good education and for motivating me to always do my best.
To the love of my life, Boniface for your strength To the Almighty God who makes all things possible
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Associate Professor Lisa Seymour for her insights and guidance throughout this journey. For her ever-prompt and quality feedback and going above and beyond the role of a supervisor by giving me invaluable advice about life and its challenges. Prof made this PhD journal significantly more bearable for me.
I am also grateful to all the faculty at the Information Systems department at UCT specifically Professor Irwin Brown and Professor Ojelanki Ngwenyama for taking us through critical aspects of the PhD. Special thanks to Professor Michael Kyobe for his insights and inputs. I am also grateful to the Strathmore University community for all the support provided. Special thanks to Dr Joseph Orero, Caroline Magiri, Rufina King’ori and Esther Khakata for your encouragement. Thanks to all the 2018 BBIT 4th-year students for your confidence in me.
I am sincerely thankful to all my friends both long-time friends and those I acquired because of this journey. Special thanks to Dr Paul Mungai and Dr Samwel Mwapwele for your insights and your willingness to brainstorm with me over coffee and lunch; to Rubina, Mampi and Millicent for being my friends and to the rest of the UCT research group for the invaluable monthly meetings.
I would like to sincerely thank all the participants of this study for taking the time to answer my questions and for seeing the value of this research. Thank you for your hospitality, your extensive and intensive insights that brought richness to this study.
Special thanks to my mum Mary, my husband Boniface, my son Anthony (My PhD baby), my angel Catherine and my cousin Marilyn for all the support you I have given me. My gratitude goes beyond words.
All my gratitude to the Almighty God.
Deuteronomy 10:21 “He is the one you praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.”
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Abstract
Title of Thesis: Developing Business Process Analyst competencies through higher education institution interventions - A Kenyan study
Kenya is currently experiencing large-scale economic growth. With this economic growth has come the need for organizations to have well-defined business processes largely through the development of business process management (BPM) initiatives. There is also an increasing move towards the automation of these business processes mainly through the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. This has given rise to the need for business process analyst (BPA) role. BPAs are essential to driving both BPM initiatives and ERP systems implementations. Given this scenario, the first motivation for this study was to investigate the status of BPM in Kenya and the role of the BPA in organizations in Kenya. This study specifically investigated BPA competency-building interventions required to drive BPM maturity and ERP systems implementation projects. Given that no BPM curriculum existed in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in Kenya at the commencement of this study, the second motivation of the study was to investigate how these BPA competency-building interventions could be adapted into BPM curriculum.
To answer the research questions for this study, the pragmatic research paradigm was used. A hybrid inductive-deductive research approach was deemed most appropriate. This study used a mixed methods approach. This meant that both quantitative and qualitative data was collected. Data for this study was collected iteratively between March 2016 and October 2018 using a cross-sectional or multiple snapshots time horizon. Results from the data analysis explained 12 BPA competency-building interventions. Thereafter, a BPM curriculum was designed using the design science research method (DSRM). The study incorporated the concepts of the 4I framework of organizational learning and the concepts of the activity system.
The scientific contributions of this study comprise three aspects. Firstly, this research identified that certain BPA competencies such as business requirements elicitation, business process improvement, business analysis and holistic overview of business thinking were perceived to have been undervalued in the Kenyan context. Business process orchestration competencies were perceived to be critical for driving BPM in organizations and for successfully managing ERP systems implementations. Secondly, the study established that BPA competency-building interventions such as inter-group collaboration, on-the-job/experiential learning and vendor certifications were among the highly impactful interventions. Thirdly, the study designed a novel BPM curriculum, a first for Kenya. The curriculum incorporated the 4I framework of organizational learning and activity systems in its design and implementation. The results of the evaluation of the BPM curriculum established that students found it useful for building critical BPA competencies such as business analysis, business requirements elicitation and business process improvement.
Data collection for this study was limited to the BPA role within organizations and Business and Information Technology students undertaking a BPM course in HEI within the Kenyan context. Future research can extend data collection to other key staff members such as managers and human resource experts. Further, the BPM curriculum artefact was evaluated in the last 2 weeks of a 4-month semester within which the BPM curriculum was run. Therefore, a comprehensive evaluation could not be carried out due to time constraints. Future studies can extend findings from this study by using a design science approach of artefact evaluation to implement a comprehensive and detailed evaluation of the BPM curriculum. This can provide additional insights into the ways in which the BPM curriculum can be improved. There is also an opportunity
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to use action research as a methodology to validate the educational interventions established in this study. Action research would drive in-depth engagement with both BPAs in industry and students undertaking BPM curriculum in HEI with the aim of effecting contributions to both theory and practice.
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Publications
In the course of this study, 4 papers were written. These papers presented findings and contributions of this study. These papers were accepted and presented at 3 conferences (4th upcoming in 2019) as outlined below:
Wamicha, E. W., & Seymour, L. F. (2015). A higher education model for developing competencies for critical ERP implementation roles: the case of Kenya. In Beyond development. Time for a new ICT4D paradigm? Proceedings of the 9th IDIA conference (pp. 408-416). Wamicha, E., & Seymour, L. (2016). Towards a Framework for Business Process Management and Enterprise Systems Competency Building in Higher Education Institutions: A Comparative Study of South Africa and Kenya. In Proceedings of the Mediterranean Conference of Information Systems (MCIS) (p. 12).
Wamicha, E., & Seymour, L. F. (2017). Organizational interventions to build the ERP business process analyst: the 4I framework perspective. In Proceedings of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists (p. 37). ACM.
Accepted paper in 2019
Title: The competencies required for the BPA role: An analysis of the Kenyan Context Authors: Wamicha, E., & Seymour, L. F. (2019)
Conference: InSITE 2019 in Jerusalem, Israel Dates: 30th June to 4th July 2019
ix Table of contents Declaration ... iii Dedication ... iv Acknowledgements ... v Abstract ... vi Publications ... viii 1. Introduction ... 1 1.1. Problem statement ... 1 1.2. Research questions ... 3 1.3. Research philosophy ... 4 1.4. Research context... 6
1.5. Justification of the research ... 6
1.6. Structure of the thesis ... 7
2. The Literature review – A Hermeneutic approach ... 9
2.1. Research focus 1: BPM, the BPA role and competency requirements... 11
2.1.1. Business Process Management (BPM) ... 12
2.1.2. Evolution of BPM ... 12
2.1.3. BPM and ERP systems integration ... 15
2.1.4. The BPA role ... 17
2.1.5. Competency building for the BPA ... 18
2.1.6. The Kenyan context ... 20
2.1.7. The South African context (SA) ... 22
2.2. Research focus 2: Organizational learning theories, interventions and frameworks 23 2.2.1. Organizational learning theories, frameworks and approaches ... 23
2.2.2. Organizational learning as a process ... 27
2.2.3. The 4I Framework of organizational learning ... 28
2.3. Research focus 3: BPM and ERP systems curriculum, the Activity Theory and activity systems analysis ... 30
2.3.1. BPM and ERP systems curriculum ... 31
2.3.2. HEI Education models for BPM and ERP systems curriculum ... 31
2.3.3. Student learning ... 32
2.3.4. Activity Theory ... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.3.5. Activity systems analysis ... 34
2.4. Summary of literature ... 35
2.5. Research gaps ... 36
x
3.1. An Analysis of the intended objectives for the study ... 38
3.2. Research philosophy ... 39
3.2.1. Interpretivism ... 40
3.2.2. Pragmatism and mixed methods research ... 41
3.2.3. The position of this study: Research philosophy ... 42
3.3. Scientific contribution ... 44
3.3.1. Theory for analyzing (Type I) ... 45
3.3.2. Theory for explaining (Type II) ... 45
3.3.3. Theory for design and action (Type V) ... 46
3.3.4. The position of this study: Scientific contribution ... 46
3.4. Research approach ... 49
3.4.1. Deduction ... 49
3.4.2. Induction ... 50
3.4.3. The position of the study: Research approach ... 50
3.5. Research strategy ... 52
3.5.1. The position of the study: Research strategy ... 52
3.5.2. Context description... 52
3.6. Time Horizon ... 54
3.7. Data Sources ... 55
3.8. BPA competencies data collection and data analysis ... 55
3.8.1. Mixed methods sampling technique ... 56
3.8.2. Data collection and analysis techniques for RQ1 ... 57
3.9. Organizational interventions data collection and data analysis ... 60
3.9.1. Data sample for RQ 2 and RQ 3 ... 60
3.9.2. Data collection techniques for research question 2 and 3 ... 61
3.9.3. Non-probability sampling technique for the qualitative data ... 62
3.9.4. Data analysis procedures for research question 2 and 3 ... 63
3.10.5 Tests for saturation for RQ2 and RQ3 ... 64
3.10. HEI artefact ... 68
3.11. Design Science research ... 69
3.11.1. Identifying the problem ... 70
3.11.2. Defining the objectives of the solution ... 71
3.11.3. Designing and developing the artefact ... 72
3.11.4. Demonstrating the artefact ... 72
3.11.5. Evaluating the artefact ... 72
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3.12. Application of DSRM, Activity systems analysis and the 4I framework of
organizational learning in BPA competency building... 74
3.13. Ethics and confidentiality approach for this study ... 74
3.14. A summary of the research method ... 75
4. Uncovering the competency requirements for the BPA role in organizations in Kenya 77 4.1. Approach to answering the research question ... 77
4.2. Findings ... 77 4.2.1. H1 Findings ... 79 4.2.2. H2 Findings ... 84 4.2.3. H3 Findings ... 86 4.2.4. H4 Findings ... 87 4.3. Summary of findings ... 95
5. Organizational interventions to build the Business Process Analyst: the 4I framework perspective ... 98
5.1. A description of the organizational interventions: the Kenyan context ... 98
5.2. Intuiting ... 99
5.2.1. On-the-Job or do it yourself (DIY). ... 100
5.3. Interpreting ... 101
5.3.1. Job shadowing ... 102
5.3.2. Staff to Staff mentorship ... 103
5.4. Integrating ... 105
5.4.1. External consultants ... 106
5.4.2. Inter-group collaboration ... 109
5.4.3. Stakeholder engagement ... 111
5.4.4. Top management support ... 112
5.4.5. Vendor certifications ... 113
5.4.6. Vendor support tools ... 115
5.5. Institutionalizing ... 116
5.5.1. Employee assessment ... 116
5.5.2. Knowledge sharing ... 118
5.5.3. Organization run trainings ... 119
5.6. A Summary of findings ... 121
6. Organizational interventions and their impact BPA competency building ... 124
6.1. BFC – BPA fundamental competencies ... 127
6.1.1. BFC1- Business Analysis ... 128
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6.1.3. BFC3- Client Experience Thinking ... 131
6.1.4. BFC4 - Mathematical and Statistical competency ... 132
6.2. BIC – Business Interpersonal Competencies ... 132
6.2.1. BIC1 - Facilitation and Leadership ... 133
6.2.2. BIC2 - Business requirements elicitation ... 134
6.2.3. BIC3 - Business Communication ... 136
6.2.4. BIC4 – Trustworthiness ... 137
6.3. OK – Organizational Knowledge ... 138
6.4. TC – Technical Competencies ... 139
6.4.1. TC1 - Software Oriented Architecture (SOA) Knowledge ... 140
6.4.2. TC2 - ERP systems Knowledge ... 141
6.4.3. TC3 - User Interface design skills ... 142
6.5. BPO – Business Process Orchestration Competencies... 142
6.5.1. BPO1-Business Process and Value chain modelling ... 143
6.5.2. BPO2- Business Process Improvement ... 145
6.5.3. BPO3-Business Process Risk Compliance Assessment ... 146
6.5.4. BPO4 - BPA drive and promotion ... 146
6.6. Summary of competency – intervention mapping ... 148
7. HEI curriculum prescriptions to develop BPA competencies in students – A DSRM approach ... 150
7.1. Problem identification and motivation ... 150
7.2. Definition of the objectives of the solution ... 151
7.2.1. Objective 1: Defining the concepts of the activity system ... 151
7.2.2. Objective 2: Defining and assessing the outcomes of the activity system against the desired end result ... 158
7.3. Design of the artefact ... 158
7.3.1. Intuiting activity system ... 158
7.3.2. Interpreting activity system ... 160
7.3.3. Integrating activity system ... 162
7.3.4. Institutionalizing activity system ... 164
7.4. Demonstration of the artefact ... 166
7.4.1. Week 1- 2: Introduction to the course and group formation ... 167
7.4.2. Week 3-4: Introduction to BPMN, process modelling labwork and the AS-IS process 167 7.4.3. Week 5: Continuous assessment test 1 and process modelling ... 168
7.4.4. Week 6-7: Qualitative and Quantitative process analysis ... 169
7.4.5. Week 8-9: Continuous assessment test 2, Process re-design and the TO-BE process model ... 169
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7.4.6. Week 10: Compilation and presentation of final semester project output... 170
7.5. Evaluation of the BPM course (the artefact) ... 170
7.5.1. The evaluation process ... 171
7.5.2. Prescriptions for the BPM course ... 174
7.6. Communication of the artefact ... 175
8. Conclusion ... 176
8.1. Problem statement and research questions revisited ... 176
8.2. Literature review and research method ... 177
8.3. Summary of findings ... 177
8.3.1. Research question 1 ... 177
8.3.2. Research question 2 and 3 ... 178
8.3.3. Research question 4 ... 179
8.4. Research contribution ... 179
8.4.1. Theoretical contribution ... 179
8.4.2. Practical contribution ... 180
8.5. Limitations of the study ... 180
8.5.1. Method limitations ... 180
8.5.2. Contextual limitations ... 181
8.6. Future directions and closing comments ... 181
9. References ... 183
Appendices ... 201
Appendix 1: BPA competency framework codebook ... 203
Appendix 2: Framework of organizational learning codebook ... 204
Appendix 3: Initial set of themes/codes for RQ2 ... 205
Appendix 4: Activity Systems/ Activity Theory concept definitions... 208
Appendix 5: Activity Systems/ Activity Theory: Testing the reliability of the concept definitions ... 210
Appendix 6: Survey Instrument for RQ1 ... 212
Appendix 7: Interview Schedule for RQ2 and RQ3 ... 217
Appendix 8: Requirements specification Interview schedule for RQ4 ... 219
Appendix 9: Artefact evaluation survey instrument for RQ4: ... 221
Appendix 10: Ethical approval from – University of Cape Town ... 222
Appendix 11: Ethics Approval Letter – Strathmore University ... 228
Appendix 12: Cover letter and consent form ... 230
Appendix 13: Intuiting and Interpreting activity system ‘hands-on’ lab exercise... 231
Appendix 14: Integrating activity example ... 238 Appendix 15: Institutionalizing activity system: Continuous Assessment Test (CAT) one . 240
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1.
Introduction
This chapter sets the groundwork for this research. This chapter elaborates on the background of the research, the problem statement, the research questions, the research context and justification and finally a detailed outline of the structure of the thesis. While much has been done in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and IS research in developed countries such as North America and Europe, developing countries including those in Africa continue to have issues that are not well analyzed in IS research (Avgerou, 2010). Further, several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing major growth in the area of ICT (Mbarika, Payton, Kvasny, & Amadi, 2007). In addition to this, the digital divide in countries such as Kenya continues to reduce at a rapid rate especially in areas such as development and establishment of telecommunications infrastructure (Brännström, 2012). Other critical areas such as electronic governance and improvement of government processes have also been initiated and implemented at a rapid rate in the continent but have not seen equally rapid progress in the area of research (Estevez & Janowski, 2013). In general, the development of information systems research in developing countries has been slow (Avgerou, 2008; Avgerou, 2010). Other studies agree with this perspective, that information systems and ICT have the potential in the continent to enable strategic and transformative development but hardly any research has delved into this rapidly growing area (Thompson & Walsham, 2010).
Studies have also shown that there is a growing need to research issues of information systems and ICT from a context perspective such that we do not assume that what works in one context will automatically work in another (Heeks, 2010). Gaining a clearer evaluation of this context is urgent since substantial funding is being spent on Information Systems in these countries (Hawking, 2011; Heeks, 2010). Education within the IS arena has also been viewed as critical to enhancing educational achievements in developing countries and this is important for using IS optimally (Ngwenyama, Andoh-Baidoo, Bollou, & Olga, 2006). This argument remains as important in the case of competency building for the Business Process Analyst (BPA) role, which is a prominent research area in information systems literature (Klaus, Rosemann & Gable, 2000).
1.1. Problem statement
The research presented in this thesis is titled “Developing Business Process Analyst competencies through higher education institution interventions”. The study places a special focus on the Kenyan context as there is insufficient research on the topic within this context. The research intends to contribute to the literature on competency building of Business Process Analysts
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(BPAs) working within complex environments such as within enterprise resource planning system (ERP systems) projects. The focus of the study is building competency of a relatively new role, that of the BPA. This is a relatively new area that requires further investigation, especially within the Kenyan context. Further motivation for this study is that Kenya has developed a long term strategy. This strategy known as the Vision 2030 has outlined a plan for growth in the Business Process Outsourcing under the economic pillar where Kenya hopes to be a global hub for process offshoring (Vision 2030, 2008). However, of note is that high-quality process offshoring is achieved through BPM (Lacity, Solomon, Yan, & Willcocks, 2011; Mahmoodzadeh, Jalalinia, & Nekui Yazdi, 2009) and involves the ability to analyse and redesign business processes in order improve on them (Dumas, La Rosa, Mendling, & Reijers, 2013), a key role of the BPA. In addition, Kenyan studies on process offshoring have indicated that one of the major challenges that Kenya is facing with regards to process offshoring adoption is a lack of relevant competencies (Chumo, 2015).
A closer look at the BPA role indicates that BPAs undertake an analysis of all the activities that are required to complete a critical business operation in an organization, they also consistently work with stakeholders to identify their needs refining their needs and defining it over time. BPAs are involved in the prioritization of these needs and progressive elaboration in order to clarify requirements. Business process analysis also involves balancing between stakeholder needs and end solution requirements (Mathiesen, Bandara, Delavari, Harmon, & Brennan, 2011). Literature addresses the importance of the BPA in their studies (Chakabuda, Seymour, & van der Merwe, 2014; Motwani, Mirchandani, Madan, & Gunasekaran, 2002; Sonteya, Seymour, & Willoughby, 2012). They argued that understanding the business processes of an organization is an important aspect of the success of an ERP systems implementation. Similarly, these studies argue that business process analysis is important and recognize it as a critical success factor in ERP systems implementations. In an effort to develop dynamic curricula a variety of approaches have been used such as the importance of including hands-on approaches in curricula and the usage of ERP systems by academia (Leyh, Winkelmann, & Lu, 2011; Noguera & Watson, 2004; Pridmore, Deng, Prince, & Turner, 2014). Similarly, a multi-course approach that addressed a three-tiered approach and ERP systems integration across multiple business courses have been developed (Peslak, 2005; Springer, Ross, & Humann, 2007). Further, studies on pedagogy in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) have acknowledged that there is a challenge in being able to fully address industry demanded competencies. That universities face a massive task of balancing investments into programs with the need to meet industry demand, which can potentially be offset through appropriate pedagogy. (Eden, Sedera, & Tan, 2014)
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Further studies describe the link between competency and pedagogy as “inextricable” such that it (the link) forms a basis for the development of a common curriculum (Katz, 2000). This link implies that in order to be able to practically carry out a task, there needs to have been gradual guidance on how to do the task. In this regard, as will be highlighted in the literature review chapter, no study has determined the interventions that can develop BPA competencies required by organizations in Kenya. Further, no BPA curriculum suited to the Kenyan context has been developed.
This PhD thesis focuses on four research questions targeting competency building for BPAs. The study investigates the competencies required for the BPA role to drive BPM initiatives and manage ERP systems implementations in organizations in Kenya. The study then goes on to analyze the educational and organizational interventions that impact these competencies. Finally, the study analyzes the HEI curriculum and pedagogical interventions and interactions that develop these competencies in students. The main aspect of this research reports on these 4 questions or objectives through 4 different research chapters.
1.2. Research questions
The general research question for the study focused on determining the interventions that develop BPA competencies required by organizations. The study focused on describing the competencies of the BPA that are perceived as most important, those organisational interventions that enhance these competencies in BPA’s and how these interventions can be adopted in HEIs. In order to investigate the phenomenon of interest, the main research question was formulated and is outlined below:
What interventions develop BPA competencies required by organizations in Kenya? This research question was empirically investigated using a pragmatic approach that answered the main research question through 4 sub-questions outlined below.
RQ1: What are the competencies required for the BPA role in organizations in Kenya?
o This question described the various competencies that organizations view as critical for BPAs to have especially if they are working in ERP systems implementations and ERP systems environments in general.
RQ 2: What are the organizational interventions that impact these competencies?
o Here the study described the various interventions that organizations use to build their BPAs
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o Here emerging patterns were explained between interventions described in RQ2 and the various BPA competencies that they impacted.
RQ 4: How can the HEI curriculum and pedagogical interventions and interactions develop these competencies in students?
o Here, the study designed and implemented a BPM curriculum that incorporated those interventions explained in RQ 3 with the aim of preparing students to become BPAs.
1.3. Research philosophy
The researcher takes the position that answering the research question is the most important factor for a study when establishing the most appropriate research philosophy to adopt. This follows the pragmatic research paradigm which advocates for the appreciation of the essence of the research question and then using this as a basis for the selection of the specific method to use (Hanson, Creswell, Clark, Petska, & Creswell, 2005). Pragmatism was ideal for this study given that a major outcome of this study was to determine what would work for a given problem area (Dewey, 2007; Morgan, 2014). Further, pragmatism as a philosophy was best suited to handling mixed methods research which was a focal part of this study. Furthermore, pragmatism was ideal for this study as it involved recognizing a given problematic situation when considering the problem and developing a line of action and likely consequences and thereafter presenting action points required to address the problematic situation.
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1.4. Research context
This research focused on BPM and BPA within the Kenyan context. The main motivation was that no previous studies on either BPM or BPA in Kenya had been carried out. In order to deeply investigate the phenomenon of interest, two cases were carefully selected and were found to be most appropriate for answering the four research questions of this study. The study addressed BPAs working in Industry and thereafter investigated BPM curriculum implementation within HEI. Figure 1-1 below further outlines the context of this study.
1.5. Justification of the research
This research will positively impact both industry practitioners. Similarly, given the complexity of ERP systems implementations and operations, it is necessary to have practitioners who appreciate the importance of BPM within these complex environments. In this regard, this study is relevant not only within the Kenyan context but also within the region where companies continue to adapt and operationalize ERP systems. ERP systems implementations and their subsequent operations require well-streamlined business processes and therefore skills in BPM will become critical as the number of ERP systems implementations increase.
The study intends to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by describing the competencies that are required by BPAs as well as the curriculum adaptations that HEI can incorporate into their courses to facilitate competency developed in BPAs. The study is therefore relevant for HEI that are constantly trying to implement industry relevant curriculum. From a practical perspective, the findings of this study can be generalized to both large and small-sized companies from varying sectors in Industry. These companies include those intending to optimize their BPM initiatives and those implementing an ERP system. These companies are required to fully synthesize their business processes as well as those that have already fully implemented ERP systems and have clear intentions to constantly manage and re-design their business processes.
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1.6. Structure of the thesis
The structure of the thesis is outlined as follows:
Chapter 1: Introduction - The chapter provides an outline of the aim of the research, the statement of the problem, the research questions and the main research objectives.
Chapter 2: Literature Review- This chapter provides an extensive and systematic synthesis of the state of the art in the thematic areas of ERP systems education, Competency building and the Kenyan context. The study also addresses the theoretical viewpoints relevant to the study as well as an analysis of other works using similar research paradigms
Chapter 3: The Research Methodology - This chapter focuses on how the study applied Pragmatic philosophy within the study. The chapter also provides a detailed overview of the site selection for data collection and the data collection methods that were used for each of the research questions.
Chapter 4: The competencies required for business process analyst roles in organizations in Kenya – The chapter identifies and discusses the main competencies that are required for critical ERP systems roles in organizations running ERP systems solutions in Kenya. The chapter presents the results of the surveys conducted. These results are comprehensively discussed and then compared with the available literature.
Chapter 5: What are the organizational interventions that impact these competencies? – This chapter analyses the organizational interventions in two parts. The first part contextualizes these themes through comprehensive thematic analysis. The results of the study are discussed using the 4I Framework of Organizational Learning.
Chapter 6: How do these interventions impact BPA competencies? This chapter explains emerging relationships between these organizational interventions and the BPA competencies that they impact. This discussion is presented in the form of correlation matrices between organizational intervention and BPA competency.
Chapter 7: What HEI curriculum and pedagogical interventions and interactions can develop these competencies in students? This chapter discusses Activity Theory as the theoretical framework used to answer the research question. The chapter examines the research context and method used as well as curriculum development recommendations that can be incorporated into BPA related courses in HEI.
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Chapter 8: Conclusions, recommendations and ideas for future research – The chapter presents the key contributions of the study with references to the main aim of the research and its constituent research questions. The chapter also discusses the implications of the research on both theory and practice. The chapter concludes by outlining the limitations of the research and opportunities for future work.
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2.
The Literature review – A Hermeneutic approach
During the course of preparing for the literature review chapter, the researcher studied various approaches to carrying out a literature review in order to establish which approach would be most appropriate for this study. Given the structured nature of the systematic review that requires a distinct planning phase, execution phase and reporting phase (Budgen & Brereton, 2006; Inayat, Salim, Marczak, Daneva, & Shamshirband, 2015), it was found to be limiting for purposes of this study. Further, the researcher identified that highly structured approaches often undermine dialogical interaction between literature and findings the develop as the study matures (Boell & Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2010, 2014). This study took into account that, while systematic reviews provide ideal guidelines for high-quality literature reviews, it was important not to disregard the personal and intellectual engagement between literature and the findings of this research (Boell & Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2015). This study opted to follow the hermeneutic approach to carrying out a literature review which involved a search and acquisition cycle and an analysis and interpretation cycle that happened iteratively through the course of this study. The hermeneutic approach was also deemed most appropriate given that it allowed the researcher to use relevant literature from a variety of journals, conference proceedings and books. Among the relevant journals accessed included the Business and Economics Review, the Business Process Management Journal, The European Journal of Information Systems, The Journal of Information Systems Education, International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management. Among the conference proceedings that were accessed included proceedings from the International Conference on Software Engineering, IST-Africa conference proceedings and the Academy of Management conference proceedings. Books that were used in this study included the Handbook of qualitative research, the handbook of BPM and the handbook of educational research. A Figure 2-1 below outlines the steps of the hermeneutic approach to the literature review.
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Figure 2-1: A hermeneutic framework for the literature review (Boell & Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2010, 2014)
While using the hermeneutic literature review approach, this study opted to follow an outcome perspective where the intention was to frame and study the research background (vom Brocke, Simons, et al., 2015). The background review was selected as it enabled the researcher to inform how the research questions and hypothesis for this study were developed (Boell & Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2010; vom Brocke, Simons, et al., 2015). Similarly, given that this study also developed a design science artefact, the background review enabled the researcher to justify the novelty of the artefact that was designed (Boell & Cecez-Kecmanovic, 2010; vom Brocke, Simons, et al., 2015; von Alan, March, Park, & Ram, 2004). Further, the findings chapters of this thesis were written following an iterative dialogical interaction between literature and the research findings. This approach, therefore, allowed for an interactive synthesis of literature from a broad set of relevant sources. The main concepts of interest were derived from the four research questions. These are presented in Table 2-1. The literature review addresses three research focuses. 1) BPM, the BPA role and competency requirements. 2) Organizational learning theories, interventions and frameworks 3) BPM curriculum, pedagogy and teaching strategy and activity Systems analysis.
11 Table 2-1:Concepts derived from sub-questions
Sub-questions Keywords/Concepts Research focus
What are the competencies required for the BPA role in organizations in Kenya? BPA BPA competencies Kenyan Context BPM Maturity BPM in ERP systems implementations 1
What are the organizational interventions that impact these competencies?
Organizational Learning interventions
Competency building frameworks
2
How do these interventions impact BPA competencies?
How can the HEI curriculum and pedagogical interventions and interactions develop these competencies in students?
BPM curriculum
Pedagogy and teaching strategy Activity Systems
3
The following sections of the literature review synthesize in greater detail, the main themes of the study.
2.1. Research focus 1: BPM, the BPA role and competency requirements.
The first research focus addresses literature on BPM in section 2.2.1 this is then followed by a synthesis of literature on the evolution of BPM in general in section 2.2.2 this is followed by a review of literature on the integration of the BPM and ERP systems fields in section 2.2.3 with consensus that BPM facilitates effective implementation of ERP systems in organizations. The literature review then addresses studies on competency building in the IS field in section 2.2.4 and thereafter synthesizes studies on the BPA role, the specific role that drives BPM initiatives and therefore plays a significant role in ensuring that BPM matures throughout the organization. In order to better understand the competency requirements of the BPA role, this study synthesizes the literature on BPA competency requirements in section 2.2.5 as well as an assessment of studies on BPM, ERP systems and the BPA role within the Kenyan context in section 2.2.6.
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2.1.1. Business Process Management (BPM)
BPM has been defined as an area that attempts to merge the areas of Information Technology and Management Science. BPM is defined as a critical management practice that is focused on ensuring that there is a good understanding of business processes of an organization in order to enable organizational effectiveness and efficiency (Xu, 2011; Sonteya et al., 2012) . BPM has also been regarded as an active field of research in the IS arena, authors suggest that it is an interdisciplinary methodology that addresses how organizations can analyze, design, implement and improve their organizational work processes and the IT systems that support them (Müller, Schmiedel, Gorbacheva, & vom Brocke, 2016). Business Process Management (BPM) is also viewed as a holistic management discipline (Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2015) that attempts to find common ground between computer science and business administration (Weske, 2012). BPM can be represented within BPM software that is driven by specific process designs used to automate and operationalize business processes (Van Der Aalst, 2013). BPM impacts efficiency by providing integration between managing the performance of the organization through the management of end-to-end business processes of the organization (Vom Brocke & Rosemann, 2010). Similarly, it has been viewed as a major prerequisite for taking full advantage of the ERP systems software that is to be implemented (Al-Mudimigh, Zairi, & Al-Mashari, 2001; Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2015). There has also been an increase in interest in the way business process re-design works within ERP systems implementation plans (Bradford & Gerard, 2015). Within the area of strategic management, BPM has been described as a critical management practice that is focused on ensuring that there is a good understanding of business processes of an organization in order to enable organizational effectiveness and efficiency (Xu, 2011; Sonteya et al., 2012). 2.1.2. Evolution of BPM
Business Process Management (BPM) trends span a period of more than thirty years (the 1980s –2000s) and have been defined as focusing on continuous process improvement and business process redesign (Scheer & Nüttgens, 2000; Vom Brocke et al., 2011). In this regard, A study investigated BPM maturity frameworks (De Bruin & Rosemann, 2006; Harmon, 2015; Röglinger, Pöppelbuß, & Becker, 2012). Studies have also investigated the evolution of business process management (Harmon, 2015; Smith & Fingar, 2003). These studies have suggested that by having an understanding of business processes, organizations are better able to keep up with the demands of the current global market (Smith & Fingar, 2003; Weske, 2007, 2012). This is because business process management aims to understand what the organization does and from this, it attempts to
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manage the process improvement and optimization lifecycle (Smith & Fingar, 2003). The business process lifecycle is defined as a set of phases that are dependent on each other and that aim to improve or optimize existing business processes or add new business processes that are critical to the organization (Weske, 2007).
Literature around BPM maturity frameworks has been developed over the years (Röglinger et al., 2012; Tarhan, Turetken, & Reijers, 2016). Largely findings from literature indicate that organizations can be placed into four distinct stages of BPM maturity. These are; the Initial Stage where there are uncoordinated attempts towards BPM but a strong desire to learn (de Bruin & Doebeli, 2009; De Bruin & Rosemann, 2006; Rosemann, 2006; Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2015; G Rummler & Brache, 1998; GA Rummler & Brache, 2004); the Repeatable stage where organizations begin to document their processes. However, processes are manual, and organizations tend to be reactive towards process improvement (de Bruin & Doebeli, 2009; De Bruin & Rosemann, 2006; Hammer, 2015; Rosemann, 2006; Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2015); the Managed stage where organizations understand and coordinate end-to-end activities. Process improvement takes on a more proactive approach because organizations invest more in understanding and analyzing their processes (de Bruin & Doebeli, 2009; De Bruin & Rosemann, 2006; McCormack, 2007; McCormack et al., 2009; Rosemann, 2006; G Rummler & Brache, 1998; GA Rummler & Brache, 2004); the Optimized stage where BPM becomes engrained in the strategy and operations of the organization (de Bruin & Doebeli, 2009). Further, organizations take the time to measure and manage their processes and BPM is handled by well-organized teams (de Bruin & Doebeli, 2009; De Bruin & Rosemann, 2006; Harmon, 2015; Rosemann, 2006). Literature also suggests that the more mature an organization is in terms of BPM the higher the competency requirements for BPAs handling these BPM initiatives (de Bruin & Doebeli, 2009; De Bruin & Rosemann, 2006; Rosemann, 2006). However, upon further scrutiny of literature on BPM maturity, there was no clear indication of the specific BPA competencies required to drive BPM maturity in organizations. To describe these competencies, the current study develops the following hypothesis that is further analyzed in chapter 4 of the study.
Table 2-2 outlines this relevant literature with respect to literature reviews carried out on BPM maturity (Röglinger et al., 2012; Tarhan et al., 2016).
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Table 2-2: BPM maturity Frameworks, Source:(Röglinger et al., 2012; Tarhan et al., 2016)
BPM Model Source Maturity stages
BPMMM (de Bruin &
Doebeli, 2009; De Bruin & Rosemann, 2006; Rosemann, 2006)
Initial: Un-coordinated/Unstructured attempts towards BPM
Optimized: Strategic and operational management a core part of BPM Process performance index (G Rummler & Brache, 1998; GA Rummler & Brache, 2004)
Initiation: organizations are new to BPM but have a strong desire to learn
Process management mastery: BPM is a way of life for organizations. Process owners are rewarded on process performance. Every employee understands the processes BPR maturity model
(Maull, Tranfield, & Maull, 2003)
Group 1: Organizations engage in business process reengineering (BPR) project planning
Group 5: Organizations use experience from BPR projects and apply it to the whole business
Business process maturity model
(Fisher, 2004) BPM Siloed: Siloed information from individual groups working to optimize their own processes
Intelligent operating network: employees achieve optimal efficiency throughout the end-to-end value chain cutting across different functions of the organization
Process management maturity assessment
(Rohloff, 2009) BPM&P Initial: processes are not defined. Elements such as schedule, budget are not predictable
Optimizing: market requirements are taken into consideration when adjusting processes
Business process management BPM maturity model (McCormack, 2007; McCormack et al., 2009)
BPM&P Ad hoc: processes are unstructured and not well defined. The organization concentrates on its functional arms Integrated: the organization is based on end-to-end processes (Hammer, 2015) P-1/E-1 (examples): Processes are based on fragmented IT
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Process and
enterprise maturity model
P-4/E-4 (examples): design of processes aligns with customer and supplier processes
Process maturity ladder
(Harmon, 2015) Initial: processes are not defined
Optimizing: processes are measured and managed. Processes are handled by well-organized teams
Business process maturity model
(Schonenberg, Weber, Van Dongen, & Van der Aalst, 2008)
Initial: focus is on firefighting and success of process management is based on the competence and heroics of individuals and not on the proper design of processes Innovating: focus is on change management with clear directions to defect and problem prevention, as well as continuous and innovative improvements, are in place. Processes are continually improved
Business process maturity model
(Lee & Dale, 1998)
Initial: processes are managed in an ad hoc manner
Optimizing: proactive mechanisms for monitoring and controlling processes
2.1.3. Process outsourcing, BPM and ERP systems integration
A study suggests that the areas of process outsourcing, BPM and ERP systems integration are among the core areas of research in business process related studies. ERP systems have been used to facilitate the automation of processes in Business process outsourcing (Sidorova & Isik, 2010). Process outsourcing is viewed as an inter-organizational approach to process design, where certain processes that are not core to the business can be handled outside organizational boundaries. Enhanced by advancements in ICT such as ERP systems and globalization, process outsourcing “is among the most pervasive business trends of the 2000s. Processes being outsourced range from payroll and HR management, to cash management and IT management.” (Sidorova & Isik, 2010 p. 577). On the other hand, BPM has been defined as an approach to process performance that provides integration between managing performance of the organization through the management of end-to-end business processes of the organization (Makokha, Musiega, & Juma, 2013) as well as the management of processes that add value to the organization (Makokha et al., 2013). BPM has been viewed as a major prerequisite for taking full advantage of the ERP systems software that is to be implemented and as a means of automation
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of an enterprise’s business processes and functions (Mutongwa & Rabah, 2013; Otieno, 2010). There has also been an increase in interest in the way business process re-design works within ERP systems implementation plans (Apiyo & Mburu, 2014). These studies argue that for ERP systems to be used efficiently in organizations, the business processes being executed by the system need to be well understood and analyzed and then mapped onto the ERP systems (Apiyo & Mburu, 2014).
Given that ERP systems are central to BPM and process outsourcing, it is important to define them. ERP systems are regarded as enterprise-wide systems that are used by organizations to integrate and optimize their business processes (Amondi, 2014). ERP systems make it possible for organizations to automate large portions of their business processes as described in the following statement:
“An enterprise system stores its data in one centralized database, and a set of application modules provides the desired functionality, including human resources, financials, and manufacturing. Enterprise resource planning systems have effectively replaced numerous heterogeneous enterprise applications, thereby solving the problem of integrating them” (Al-Mudimigh et al., 2001 p. 30).
With this definition in mind, research has shown that in order for ERP systems to be implemented optimally, it is critical for the implementers to fully appreciate the business processes of the organization (Otieno, 2010). There is also an indication that those organizations that achieve optimal benefit from an ERP systems implementation have a clear understanding of their end-to-end business processes. (Moon, 2007):
“BPM is not limited to ERP systems to leverage benefits, BPM has to acknowledge the technical possibilities which ERP systems can provide. Consequently, when considering enterprise systems, it is difficult to conceive of ERP systems without also considering BPM. ERP systems and BPM are integrated.” (Moon, 2007 p. 10).
There is, therefore, an increase in demand for individuals who understand BPM within ERP systems environments. Many organizations have seen the need to invest in professionals who can take on the role of the BPA (Garbutt & Seymour, 2015; Weske, 2012). This professional should support a holistic approach to business processes and is often required to have a high number of different competencies to effectively manage business process practices (Antonucci & Goeke,
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2009; Chakabuda et al., 2014; Garbutt & Seymour, 2015; Sonteya et al., 2012). This is more so in ERP systems implementations where a high level of process thinking is required (Otieno, 2010). Further to this, when it comes to BPM in ERP systems implementations, studies suggest that even though a new ERP systems will help in the automation of business processes, the actual improvement of business processes can be done independently of an ERP systems (Kimberling, 2016). In addition, experts of BPM and ERP systems integration believe, when companies fail to define and improve their business processes, they end up implementing their ERP systems over existing faulty processes (Hongjun & Nan, 2011; Kimberling, 2016). Therefore, to effectively implement an ERP system, project members involved in these implementations, such as BPAs, need the requisite competencies to be able to define the existing processes and improving on them prior to the ERP systems implementation (Harmon & Trends, 2010; Hongjun & Nan, 2011; Kimberling, 2016). In order to uncover these requisite competencies, Chapter 4 of the study analyzes the need to revamp competencies around the BPA role within ERP systems environments.
2.1.4. The BPA role
In this regard, the Business Process Analyst (BPA) is defined as: “mid-level person who deals with tactical, more day-to-day aspects of discovering, validating, documenting and communicating business process knowledge’’ (Antonucci & Goeke, 2011). Several studies address the importance of BPAs in their research and also address a scarcity of skills in business process analysis (Chakabuda et al., 2014; Jarrar, Al-Mudimigh, & Zairi, 2000; Motwani et al., 2002; Sonteya et al., 2012). Currently, this role of Business Process Analysis (BPA) has been passed on to the Business Analysts (BA) of the organization. This often leads to a situation where the business analyst requires additional training in order to fit into the BPA role. Some studies have carried out a comparative analysis of the BPA and BA roles (Mathiesen et al., 2011). The results of the study indicated that while there were certain BPA skills that aligned with BA skills, there were still additional capabilities that the BPA was required to have such as Process Architecture competencies (Harmon, 2015; Mathiesen et al., 2011), Process management competencies (Harmon, 2015; Mathiesen et al., 2011), Process-oriented thinking (Moormann & Bandara, 2012), Social BPM (Caporale, Citak, Lehner, Schoknecht, & Ullrich, 2013) and Process Management and Social Networks (Mathiesen et al., 2011; Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2015). The next section elaborates further on competency building in IS and then specifically for the BPA role.
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2.1.5. Competency building for the BPA
While analyzing literature around competency building for the Business Process Analyst, a number of studies were identified. These studies analyzed the various competencies required for a Business Process Analyst (Sonteya et al., 2012). The study did not focus specifically on BPA roles in ERP systems implementations but rather provided a more generic overview of the competencies required for the BPA. A study focused on ranking important BPA competencies (Chakabuda et al., 2014). This study provided an indication of those competencies that are deemed important for the BPA role but was provided within a more generic context. In order to proceed with the study, it was important to provide a clear definition of competency within the context of this research. For the study, a broad definition of competency was utilized. One study described competency as the ‘knowledge, skill, ability or characteristics associated with high-performance On-the-Job’ (Mirabile, 1997). Other studies provide similar definitions (Ravesteyn, Betenburg, & Waal, 2008; Rudman, Garbutt, & Seymour, 2016). This study also aims to adopt the same definition. Competency has also been regarded as the skill that is often associated with performing optimally within a particular job, including the attitudes of the project members (Aydinli, Brinkkemper, & Ravesteyn, 2009). A study developed competence constructs specifically tailored toward ERP systems implementations (Stratman & Roth, 2002). In the area of information systems, understanding and building competency requirements have been viewed as critical to organizations who want to carry out their operations efficiently and who want to prevent underutilization of information systems (Khairi & Baridwan, 2015; King, 2015). There is also an emphasis on the need to build competencies integration mechanisms between technical areas such as information systems and business areas such as accounting (Sledgianowski, Gomaa, & Tan, 2017). There is also a strong argument that information systems professionals such as project managers who are involved in Information systems development project implementations require personnel that have a variety of skills ranging from technical competencies to business-related competencies. Several studies have defined BPA competency requirements as going beyond those of a business analyst (Sonteya et al., 2012). Since BPM is a discipline that covers a wide variety of tasks, from the planning stage where specific process objectives are developed to the actual execution of the process, the professional tasked with having to carry out these tasks also need to have a wide range of competency requirements (Lohmann & Zur Muehlen, 2015). Research suggests that the BPA ought to have strong technical, business and mathematical competencies (left brain thinking) as well as strong interpersonal skills involving aspects of emotional intelligence and being able to communicate effectively with stakeholders (right brain thinking) (Kalpič & Bernus, 2006; Rosemann, 2006; Sonteya et al., 2012). Several studies have
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gone ahead to develop competency frameworks for information systems practitioners and specifically BPAs (Chakabuda et al., 2014; Lohmann & Zur Muehlen, 2015; Müller et al., 2016; Sonteya et al., 2012). The framework comprises 16 different competencies that industry said BPAs needed to have. The 16 competencies as developed by Sonteya and Seymour are outlined in the following Table 2-3 and Figure 2-2:
Table 2-3: List of BPA competencies (Sonteya et al., 2012)
Competency category Constituent competencies
BIC (Business Interpersonal
competency)
BIC1 (Facilitation and Leadership) BIC3 (Business Communication) BIC4 (Trustworthiness)
BIC2 (Business Requirements Elicitation) OK (Organizational Knowledge) OK (Organizational knowledge)
BPA (Business process Analyst Fundamental Competency)
BPA1 (Business Analysis)
BPA2 (Holistic Overview of business thinking) BPA3 (Client Experience Thinking)
BPA4 (Mathematical and Statistical competency) BPO (Business Process Orchestration) BPO1 (Business process and Value chain modelling)
BPO2 (Business Process Improvement)
BPO3 (Business Process Risk and Compliance Assessment) BPO4 (BPA drive and promotion)
TC (Technical Competency) TC1 (Software Oriented Architecture) TC2 (ERP systems Knowledge) TC3 (User Interface design)
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Figure 2-2: The BPA competency framework (Sonteya et al., 2012) 2.1.6. The Kenyan context
Several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are experiencing major growth in the area of ICT (Mbarika, Payton, Kvasny, & Amadi, 2007). In addition to this, the digital divide in countries such as Kenya continues to reduce at a rapid rate especially in areas such as development and establishment of telecommunications infrastructure (Brännström, 2012). Other critical areas such as electronic governance and improvement of government processes have also been initiated and implemented at a rapid rate in the continent but have not seen equally rapid progress in the area of research (Estevez & Janowski, 2013). In general, the development of information systems research in developing countries has been slow (Avgerou, 2008, 2010). Other studies agree with this perspective, that information systems and ICT have potential in the continent to enable strategic and transformative development but hardly any research has delved into this rapidly growing area (M. Thompson & Walsham, 2010). There is an emphasis on the idea that the current trend of Information systems in developing countries is that of growth and dynamic change (Otieno, 2010). With specific respect to Kenya, the Kenyan government has developed a national strategy termed the Kenya vision 2030. This long term strategy is based on three pillars that
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include the economic pillar, the social pillar and the political pillar. Under the economic pillar, the vision 2030 strategy intends to implement process outsourcing as a major economic sector. Process outsourcing involves contracting specific business processes to a third party service provider (Vision 2030, 2008). Research suggests that to achieve this, a high level of BPM know-how is be required (Mahmoodzadeh et al., 2009). In fact, among the intended outcomes of this sector is skills development for related activities to enhance the quality of products and services (Vision 2030, 2008). Furthermore, Kenya intends to market itself as a process outsourcing destination and establish a process offshoring park as part of the expansion of its ICT infrastructure (Vision 2030, 2008). Figure 2-3 illustrates the sectors of the Economic Pillar of Kenya’s vision 2030. In this case, process outsourcing is represented as Business Process Offshoring.
Figure 2-3: Sectors of the Economic Pillar (Vision 2030, 2008)
Given that high-quality process outsourcing requires a high-level competence in BPM (Lacity et al., 2011; Mahmoodzadeh et al., 2009) it was interesting to note that while much has been done with respect to process offshoring in Kenya (Jane, Aosa, Awino, & Njihia, 2018; Mann & Graham, 2016; Mann, Graham, & Friederici, 2015), hardly any research in BPM or BPM competency building had been carried out on the Kenyan context with one study suggesting that one of the main pitfalls of adoption of process outsourcing projects in Kenya was a lack of relevant competencies in the country (Chumo, 2015). Similarly, hardly any studies have been carried out regarding BPM education and BPM competency requirements in Kenya. In the
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analysis of literature relevant to Kenya, several studies have covered the success factors required for successful ERP systems implementations (Mose, Njihia, & Magutu, 2013). Studies based on ERP systems in Kenya suggest that certain factors such as financial resource availability, complexity of the organization, regulation, top management support and employee perceptions are critical for effective ERP implementation (Kimani, 2013; Njihia & Mwirigi, 2014). Further, a Kenyan based studies on ERP implementations have addressed ERP system implementation experiences and established that ERP systems are critical for service delivery (Ndung’u & Kyalo, 2015; Nzuki, 2015). However, there are some key challenges. Key among these challenges is a lack of required skill sets (Ndung’u & Kyalo, 2015). Similarly, a Kenyan study that examined ERP implementations in Kenya found that inability to manage and re-engineer business processes was a major factor for failure of most ERP implementations in the country (Bett, 2018). No articles in the area of BPM, BPM curriculum and ERP systems curriculum were found but several acknowledge the need for further analysis of competency requirements in the use of BPM and ERP systems (Abdullabhai & Acosta, 2012; Makokha et al., 2013; Otieno, 2010; Waweru & Ngugi, 2015).
2.1.7. The South African (SA) context
This study took on a keen interest in synthesising literature on the South African context especially in order to answer research question 1 of the study. Generally speaking, studies on ICT competency development based on the SA context indicate that the country has made steps to develop BPM competency building initiatives with the aim of reducing the skills gap in the current ICT graduates (Ansen, 2014; A. P. Calitz, Greyling, & Cullen, 2014). A study developed frameworks for graduate development focusing on improving both the quality and the number of ICT graduates and students (Breytenbach, De Villiers, & Jordaan, 2013). Research from SA has also addressed the challenges facing the country from the perspective of e-skills within the value chain (A. Calitz, Greyling, & Cullen, 2010). These studies indicate clear concern that there is a significant skills shortage both within SA and also at an international level. This is especially so because current business practices require a skilled workforce conversant with new technology (A. Calitz et al., 2010). From the perspective of teaching ICT skills, SA studies have attempted to identify key challenges or tensions facing HEI focusing on aspects such as policy coherence, balancing finances with intellectual research imperatives, promoting strategic balance in partnerships with flexible regulations in HEI (Krauss & Turpin, 2010). Several studies focusing on BPM curriculum and BPM competency building have also been carried out. Such studies have
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developed a competency framework for the BPA (Sonteya and Seymour, 2012), an analysis of the challenges facing teaching business process related courses in SA HEIs (Flugel, Seymour and van der Merwe, 2014) and a further explanation of the competency gap found in the emerging Business Process Analyst role (Chakabuda and Seymour, 2014). As regards studies covering ES, most studies have covered aspects such as adoption and usage of ES architecture and the idea that these processes are largely complex and ES implementations are often focused on the organizational need to make complex decisions (Scholtz, Calitz, & Connolley, 2013).
2.2. Research focus 2: Organizational learning theories, interventions and frameworks
The second research focus was concerned with the literature on organizational learning theories. Section 2.3.1 addressed literature on the organizational learning theory, experiential learning theory and action science and organizational learning. Additionally, this section addresses literature on organizational learning interventions while 2.3.2 focuses on the 4I framework of organizational learning and its areas of application.
2.2.1. Organizational learning theories, frameworks and approaches
Organizational learning is a rapidly growing area of research that has been heavily influenced by rapid changes in technology, corporate competition and globalization (Easterby-Smith, Snell, & Gherardi, 1998). It is also an area of interest not only for the corporate world but also in academia (Easterby-Smith et al., 1998). Studies have also distinguished literature focusing on learning within the organization (Leitch, Harrison, Burgoyne, & Blantern, 1996). The two main divergences that come up are the organizational learning, which focuses on mainstream research that attempts to observe and understand how organizations learn and the learning organization which delves into what organizations have done to enhance learning, they are often written as success stories presented and communicated as case studies (De Geus, 1988). This study opts for the organizational learning approach which is descriptive in nature as it attempts to describe “What factors drive learning in organizations” (Tsang, 1997). More specifically, this study attempts to understand those organizational learning interventions that can enable competency building for BPAs. The following sections outline the literature that was analyzed. The literature covers studies on organizational learning and organizational learning interventions such as training and development. The themes derived from this literature were used to further guide the study. The following sections synthesize further the literature on organizational learning theories.
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The authors address the learning process of organizations that were constantly evolving to survive; they develop learning processes in teams; they also develop four constructs of organizational learning (knowledge acquisition, information distribution, information interpretation, and organizational memory (Argyris, 1967, 1976; Argyris & Schon, 1978; Cangelosi & Dill, 1965; Huber, 1991). Further, the organizational learning theory has been described as a means to conceptualize the process of organizational learning as a member-based process that is either independent of IT or can also be supported by IT (Schlagwein & Bjørn-Andersen, 2014). Within the domain of management information systems, the organizational learning theory has been used to describe the extent to which an organization is able to identify and correct errors in its operations (Argyris, 1977). Further, an organization is said to learn through its individuals who act as agents for their respective organizations and can involve elements of exploitation and exploration (Argyris, 1977; Schlagwein & Bjørn-Andersen, 2014; Schulz, 2001; Skarmeas, Lisboa, & Saridakis, 2016). This is also known as an organizational learning system and can be used in the process of knowledge transfer from an expert to a novice (Argyris, 1977; Bontis, Crossan, & Hulland, 2002; Wang, Lin, Jiang, & Klein, 2007). Further studies have argued that a learning organization is able to maintain a competitive advantage by being able to learn faster than the competition and effectively use and safeguard organizational resources (Crossan, Lane, White, & Djurfeldt, 1995; Stein & Vandenbosch, 1996; Weishäupl, Yasasin, & Schryen, 2015)
b) Experiential learning theory
Experiential learning is based on learning models developed by Lewin, Dewey and Piaget (D Kolb, 2014). It encompasses a number of models such as the Lewinian model which incorporates concrete experiences, observations and reflections, the formation of concepts and generalizations and testing these generalizations (D Kolb, 2014). Figure 2-4 below outlines the phases of the experiential learning theory.
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Figure 2-4: The phases of experiential learning (D Kolb, 2014)
Experiential learning is often described as a process and not necessarily as an outcome (D Kolb, 2014) and that learning is a continuous process where knowledge is acquired continuously through derived and tested experiences (D Kolb, 2014). Learning is instead a continuous process that is clearly based on experience from the past and is said to have been achieved when the learner is able to resolve conflict arising from opposing ways of doing things (Fenwick, 2001; Jewer & Evermann, 2014; Kirkham & Seymour, 2005; A. Y. Kolb & Kolb, 2005; D Kolb, 2014; David Kolb, Boyatzis, & Mainemelis, 2001; Schenck & Cruickshank, 2015; Scholtz, Cilliers, & Calitz, 2010; Veres III, Sims, & Locklear, 1991; Watson & Schneider, 1999). Within the management education domain, experiential learning has been used as part of problem solving techniques by emphasising on the need to reflect and then act in order to improve learning outcomes in both industry and HEI (Antonacopoulou, 2017; Cantor, 1997; Easterby-Smith & Cunliffe, 2017; Gilardi & Lozza, 2009; Miller & Maellaro, 2016; Paton, Chia, & Burt, 2014; Shen, Nicholson, & Nicholson, 2015). Studies have emphasized that within HEI experiential learning has provided an opportunity for students to have a more hands-on learning experience with evidence showing that students who learnt experientially were more likely to retain concepts over time (Specht & Sandlin, 1991) (Farooki, 2014).
c) Organizational learning and Strategy
The articles provide an analysis of the intersection between organizational learning and strategy. Research involves the development of antecedents categorized into 3, Knowledge Characteristics, Learning Process and Social Dimension (Argote, 2015; Hotho, Lyles, & Easterby‐Smith, 2015).
